Fluid-tight case for watches



March 6, 1956 E. PIQUEREZ 2,737,009

FLUID-TIGHT CASE FOR WATCHES Filed Feb. 1, 1954 FIG. I 4

L l I I 1 I I l ,2 y

I 1 a a United States Patent FLUID-TIGHT CASE FOR WATCI ES ErvinPiquerez, Bassecourt, Switzerland Appiication February 1, H54, SeriaiNo. adj-Q25 Claims priority, application Switzeriand February 7, 1953 7Ciaims. (Cl. fil -9G) My invention has for its object a fluid-tight casefor watches, the independent bottom of which case is provided with acylindrical upstanding flange engaging the body of the case. Said caseis characterized by the fact that one of the cooperating parts, eitherthe body of the box or the flange on the bottom of the case, is providedwith at least two springs including each a section sloping withreference to the transverse cross section of the case and merging into asection which is substantially parallel with said cross-section, saidsprings exerting an axial stress on the casing sections, while the othercooperating part is provided with two radial projections engaging eachone of said springs, the whole arrangement being such that an angularshifting of the bottom section with reference to the body section of thecase, causes each of said projections to cooperate first with thesloping section of the spring and then with the parallel section of saidspring so that said spring urges elastically the bottom of the caseagainst the body section by exerting an axial pressure which compressesa packing fitted between the bottom section and the body section of thecase.

I have illustrated by way of example, and by no means in a bindingsense, a preferred embodiment of the case forming the object of myinvention in appended drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an axial cross-section of a part of the watch case;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of a section of the watch case and Fig. 3is a plan view of the bottom of the case on a smaller scale.

The case illustrated includes a rim or body section 1 inside which isfreely fitted the cylindrical upstanding part of the bottom flange 2a ofa bottom section 2. An annular recess 3 r is formed in the outerperipheral surface of the flange 2a. This. recess serves for housing twospring-forming wire convolutions 4 arranged in diametrically opposedrelationship. Each of said springs includes a section 4!: oblique withreference to the transverse cross-section of the casing and followed bya section 412 parallel with said cross-section. The free end 40terminating the oblique section 4a is bent so that it may engage anopening in the horizontal shoulder 2c at the upper end of the flange 2aformed on the bottom section, said shoulder constituting the upper wallof the recess 3. The other end of the spring designated by the referenceM is free so that the spring may be deformed elastically and moveslightly towards the left hand side of Fig. 2. Said free end 4d isfolded into U-shape and bears against the lower surface of the shoulder2c.

. The rim section 1 of the casing carries two projections or pins 5 attwo diametrically opposed locations, said pins extending radiallytowards the inside of the casing and entering the recess 3 formed at theperiphery of the upstanding flange on the bottom section. Said flange,including the shoulder 20, is provided, to this end, with twolongitudinal cuts 6 which allow the insertion of the pins 5 when thebottom section is urged into position inside the rim section.

The securing of the bottom is obtained by an angular shifting of thelatter after the pins have been engaged through the openings or cuts 6.This rotation in the direction of the arrows 7 in Fig. 2 first bringsthe pins 5 into engagement with the section 4a of the correspondingsprings and then urges them between the lower section 4b of the springsand the lower wall of the recess 3. When said section 4b is incontacting relationship with the pin, an abutment system, which is notillustrated, constituted e. g. by a further pin secured to the rimsection 1, cooperates with a tongue 2d formed on the upstanding flange,whereby the angular shifting of the bottom section is arrested. Thepressure exerted by the pins 5' against the sections 4b of the springs,deforms the latter which act thus on the shoulder 2c so as to urgeaxially the bottom section against the rim section and to compress apacking 8 fitted between the two casing sections.

The advantage of this arrangement, with reference to conventionalscrewed bottom sections, consists in that the packing does not riskbeing crushed, as in the case of the screwed bottom being fastened tooenergetically or being insuificiently compressed, as in the case wherethe bottom is screwed home to an insufiicient extent.

In the present embodiment, the pressure of the bottom section on thepacking assumes a constant value which depends only on the structure ofthe casing and not on the manner of mounting it. Depressions 9 areformed in the bottom section 2, so as to allow introducing tweezerstherein, with a view to making the bottom section turn.

Lastly, it should be noticed that clearances 10 are provided in theupstanding flange 2a of the bottom section, so as to allow the passagetherethrough of the winder stem, when the bottom section is beinginserted.

What I claim is:

l. A fluid tight watch case comprising a case band, a case bottomcoaxialiy mounted with reference to the case band and including anupstanding flange parallel with the axis of the case, extending insidethe inner wall of the case band at a small distance therefrom andprovided with an annular recess facing the inner wall of the case bandand bounded by a surface perpendicular to the axis of the case, apacking between the case band and the case bottom, at least two separatespring wires extending inside the recess in the flange along a surfacecoaxial with the latter, each spring including a sloping section theouter end of which is fitted in a side wall the recess and a furthersection substantially parallel with a plane perpendicular to the axis ofthe case, and members radially rigid with the case entering the recss inthe flange and adapted, upon relative angular shifting between the caseband and the case bottom, to engage the sloping sections of thecorresponding spring wires and then the second sections of the latter tocompress said spring wires between said members and the above-mentionedbounding surface of the recess to urge the case bottom against the caseband over the packing extending therebetween.

2. A fiuid tight watch case comprising a case band, a case bottomcoaxially mounted with reference to the case band and including anupstanding flange parallel with the axis of the case, extending insidethe inner wall of the case band at a small distance therefrom andprovided with an annular recess facing the inner wall of the case bandand bounded at its upper end by a surface perpendicular to the axis ofthe case, the upper part of the flange being radially cut to form atleast one radial opening between the recess and the outside of theflange, a washer between the case band and the case bottom, at least twoseparate spring wires extending inside the recess in the flange along asurface coaxial with the latter, each spring including a sloping sectionthe outer end of which is fitted in the bounding surface of the recessand a further section substantially parallel with a plane perpendicularto the axis of thecase, and members radially rigid with the case bandadapted to engage said recess through the corresponding radial cut inthe upper part of the flange to enter the recess in the latter and, uponrelative angular shifting between the case band and the case bottom, toengage the sloping sections of the corresponding spring wires and thenthe second sections of the latter to compress said spring wires betweensaid members and the above-mentioned bounding surface of the recess tourge the case bottom against the case band over the washer extendingtherebetween.

3. A fluid tight watch case comprising a case band, a case bot-tomcoaxially mounted with reference to the case band and including anupstanding flange parallel with the 'axis of the case, extending insidethe inner wall of the case band at a small distance therefrom andprovided with an annular recess facing the inner wall of the case bandand bounded at its inner end by a surface perpendicular to the axis ofthe case, the upper part of the flange being radially cut to form aradial opening between the recess and the outside of the flange, awasher between the case band and the case bottom, at least two separatespring wires extending inside the recess in the flange along a surfacecoaxial with the latter, each spring including a sloping section theouter section of which is fitted in the bounding surface of the recessand a further section substantially parallel with a plane perpendicularto the axis of the case, and projections, the angular distribution ofwhich round the axis of the case coincides with that of the cuts in theupper part of the flange, radially rigid with the case band and adaptedto engage said recess through the corresponding radial cut in the upperpart of the flange to enter the recess in the latter, and upon relativeangular shifting between the case band and the case bot-tom, to engagethe sloping sections of the corresponding spring wiresand then thesecond sections of the latter to compress said spring wires between saidmembers and the above-mentioned bounding surface of the recess to urgethe case bottom against the case band over the washer extendingtherebetween.

4. A fluid tight watch case comprising a case band, a case bottom, apacking fitted between said case bottom and said case band, anupstanding flange rigid with the latter extending inside the innerperiphery of the case band with an annular clearance therebetween, saidupstanding flange being outwardly recessed to form an annular chamber,two spring wires fitted in said chamber and secured each to the uppersurface of said chamber and including each a section oblique withreference to a plane perpendicular to the axis of the case and a secondsection merging into the first section and extending in parallelism withsaid plane, two members rigid with the case band and extending radiallyand inwardly with reference thereto into the annular chamber andadapted, upon relative angular shifting between the case band and thecase bottom, to engage the corresponding springs in succession along theoblique sections and the parallel sections thereof to compress saidsprings between said members and the upper surface of the chamber rigidwith said springs to urge the case bottom against the case band over thepacking located therebetween.

5. A fluid tight watch case comprising two interengaging case sections,coaxial walls rigid respectively with each section and facing each otherwith a clearance therebetween, one of said walls being provided with anannular recess facin the other wall, two diametrically opposed springsfitted in said annular recess and including each a first section obliquewith reference to a plane perpendicular to the axis of the case and asecond section merging into the first section and extending inparallelism with said plane, the ends of said oblique section opposed tothe second section being rigid with the recessed wall, radialprojections rigid with the non-recessed wall, extending into the recessand each engaging the corresponding spring through the side of thesecond section facing away from the oblique section to compress thespring and to urge thereby the chambered wall into a direction providingfor engagement of the two case sections, and a Washer between saidsections.

6. A fluid tight watch case comprising a case band, a case bottomcoaxially mounted with reference to the case band and including anupstanding flange parallel with the axis of the case, extending insidethe inner 7 wall of the case band at a small distance therefrom andprovided with an annular recess facing the inner wall of the case bandand bounded at its upper end by a surface perpendicular to the axis ofthe flange, the upper part of the flange being radially cut to form atleast one radial opening between the recess and the outside of theflange, a washer between the case band and the case bottom, at least twoseparate spring wires extending inside the recess in the flange along asurface coaxial with the latter, each spring including a sloping sectionthe outer end of which is fitted in the bounding surface of the recess,a second section substantially parallel with a plane perpendicular tothe axis of the case and a third section following the second sectionand bent so as to engage the above-mentioned surface bounding theannular recess, and members radially rigid with the case band adapted toengage said recess through the corresponding radial cut in the upperpart of the flange to enter the recess in the latter and, upon relativeangular shifting between the case band and the case bottom, to engagethe sloping sections of the corresponding spring wires and then thesecond sections of the latter to compress said spring wires between saidmembers and the abovementioned bounding surface of the recess to urgethe case bottom against the case band over the washer extendingtherebetwecn.

7. A fluid tight watch case comprising a case band, a case bottomcoaxially mounted with reference to the case hand and including aperipheral outer flange facing an upstanding flange parallel with theaxis of the case, extending inside the inner wall of the case band at asmall distance therefrom and provided with an annular recess facing theinner wall of the case band and bounded by a surface perpendicular tothe axis of the case, a washer between the lower end of the case bandand the peripheral flange of the case bottom, at least two separatespring wires extending inside the recess in the flange along a surfacecoaxial with the latter, each spring including a sloping section theouter end of which is fitted in a side wall of the recess and a furthersection substantially parallel with a plane perpendicular to the axis ofthe case, and members radially rigid with the case entering the recessin the flange and adapted upon relative angular shifting between thecase band and the case bottom, to engage the sloping sections of thecorresponding spring wires and then the second sections of the latter tocompress said spring wires between said members and the above-mentionedbounding surface of the recess to urge the case bottom against the caseband over the washer extending therebetween.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS615,453 Hipkins Dec. 6, 1898 1,692,477 Wamelink Nov. 20, 1928' FOREIGNPATENTS 195,622 France Jan. 25, 1889 742,145 Germany Nov. 23, 1943112,031 Great Britain Dec. 27, 1917 108,676 Switzerland Feb. 2, 1925260,636 7 Switzerland Aug. 1, 1949

